


Numb

by JustAnAnxiousMess



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Angry Patton is scary, Angst, Apathy Sanders OC, Blood and Violence, Death Threats, Emotional Manipulation, Forced kisses, M/M, OC Dark Sides - Freeform, Panic Attacks, Rin is an evil git, redemption arc for Janus Sanders
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-03
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:20:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26797987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustAnAnxiousMess/pseuds/JustAnAnxiousMess
Summary: Trigger Warning: Panic Attacks, violence and forced kisses.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Logic | Logan Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders
Comments: 2
Kudos: 16





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Trigger Warning: Panic Attacks, violence and forced kisses.

Virgil slammed his bedroom door shut and collapsed on his bed with a small scream of anger. He didn't understand what was going on with him today.

He'd been trying so hard just to keep his negative comments to himself or just say them differently to try not to bring everyone down but of course that hadn't lasted.

Just one small insignificant comment from Roman and he'd snapped.

It wasn't as if he hadn't expected at least one little dig from Roman, the Royal pain in the ass usually made one at all of them at least once a day because that was just who he was but for some reason Virgil had just felt so hurt and annoyed.

Virgil felt a weird feeling on the back of his neck and turned his head to see an ominous looking shadow in the doorway to his bathroom.

He sat up, his eyes locked onto the shadow, trying to decide if it was just a shadow or....

"You seem a little tense." a breathy voice said and Virgils eyes widened in horror.

"But.... I...you....why?!" he spluttered as the shadow moved and he had a perfect view of their face.

He had Thomas's face but his eyes were dull, devoid of life and emotion behind a pair of glasses, as his lips twisted up into a poor imitation of a smile. "You know why Virgil. You fascinate me. You're so full of negativity but you attempt to appear less so. It's rather out of the ordinary to witness you trying to act a certain way to impress others. I used to admire the way you'd do what you had to no matter how anyone else reacted. You've changed."

Virgil swallowed nervously "How are you here? I thought..."

The figure before him cut him off "You wrongly assumed that because I am not considered as a main trait that I am incapable of residing in the main mindspace. The truth of the matter is, we are all quite capable of being in the main mindspace but, for those like Deceit, it's less hassle to stay out of the others way. Sure he can take the looks of mistrust and disgust every now and then but on a daily basis? He'd crumble under that sort of scrutiny, no matter how thick skinned he presents himself."

The figure had stepped closer to Virgils bed and had sat down on the edge, his eyes scanning Virgils face carefully.

"You've not changed much. You're outfit is obviously different, but your face is still almost exactly the same. I wonder..." his breathy voice trailed off and a hand reached up to touch Virgils face, causing the anxious trait to flinch backwards.

"N...no. Don't." Virgil said, his voice shaky as he tried to appear less panicked than he was.

The trait raised an eyebrow at him. "Why ever not? As I recall, you seemed rather partial to spending time with me and would relish any type of physical contact I would spare you."

"Rin, things are different now. I... I can't do that anymore. Not to myself or Thomas." Virgil said in a hesitant voice.

Rin frowned ever so slightly "I may not have a discernment of emotions but it seems likely your previous feelings have altered due to another person. You're captivated by someone else, therefore you are unwilling to engage in what was previously a normal activity because, in your eyes, you would see it as a betrayal of this mystery person."

Virgils mouth opened in shock and he frantically tried to deny it but Rin spoke in a cold, harsh voice. "Don't you dare even think of lying to me. You have never been able to lie to me and you never will. I know you too well."

Virgil flinched at his voice, barely noticing the tears dripping down his face until Rin leant forward and wiped one away with an icy finger.

"You... You shouldn't touch me." Virgil murmured, his breath starting to come out in clouds as the temperature of the room slowly dropped.

"You say that as if I care for any of the foolish rules created by those of lesser intelligence." Rin said, resting a hand on one of Virgils cheeks, making him shudder.

"you were right. I have changed and I do have feelings for someone. I can't do this." Virgil said, his eyes locked onto Rins which were nothing like the beautiful golden flecked chocolate eyes he had in mind.

"It's fortuitous that I don't care then." Rin said and pressed his lips to Virgils, making him inhaled sharply at the way the temperature plummeted dramatically.

Virgil shivered with cold but couldn't pull away, too captivated by the familiar numbing cold that he used to be so addicted to. It drowned out all his panic and worry, easing his mind and causing his body to relax.

It had been years since he'd felt this calm and he vaguely wondered why he'd not done this sooner.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Roman sat at the dining table with his head bowed in shame as he listened to Patton and Logan telling him off.

He'd regretted it as soon as the words had left his mouth but Virgil had left before he could apologise.

He glanced up as suddenly the two elder traits fell silent and he opened his mouth to ask what was wrong but Logan shook his head, pressing a finger to his lips to make him stay quiet.

Roman frowned in confusion and glanced at Patton, his eyes widening as he saw Patton had his eyes screwed shut and he was shaking.

Logan seemed to know what was going on so Roman refrained from speaking like he'd been told.

Logan stared at the eldest trait, waiting for the 'episode' as they'd classed them, to pass.

Eventually Pattons eyes flew open and he stopped shaking, his head turning to Logan immediately as he whispered "He's back but he's on his own this time."

Logan nodded sharply and got to his feet, gesturing for Roman to follow him.

Roman hesitated, looking between Logan and Patton in confusion but quickly followed when Patton made a shooing motion with his hands.

Logan came to a stop outside of a door Roman had walked past many times but had never entered.

He followed the logical trait in, taking in the oddly bare room in confusion.

As the door clicked shut Logan let out a large sigh and sank onto a grey couch, shaking his head slightly. "We can talk in here. This room makes it so the others can't eavesdrop on our conversations or affect us with their abilities."

Roman gaped at that and immediately began firing questions at him. "What was wrong with Patton? What did he mean by 'He's back'? Why isn't he with us? Why couldn't we talk?"

Logan took his glasses off and rubbed his eyes tiredly as he began answering. "Patton was having a sort of episode. They're rare and usually only occur when one of the others have found their way into the main mindspace."

"Wait but I thought they couldn't come into the main mindspace?" Roman blurted out and Logan groaned as he explained.

"The others can come into the main mindspace but they tend not to because it would cause too much conflict. They also tend to have a more negative effect on Thomas so them being present in the main mindspace would enhance their particular effect until Thomas was overcome by it. For example, if Deceit were to come into the main mindspace he would start to have more control over Thomas's words the longer he stayed until he could probably use his little silencing trick on Thomas."

Roman gasped in horror. "Surely he knows this? What's stopping him from doing that?"

Logan had a grim smile on his face. "That would be Pattons doing. He's childish and cheery most of the time but he can be downright scary when he feels someone he cares about is in any sort of danger, whether that be Thomas or one of us."

Roman gulped as he remembered the look Patton had on his face when Virgil ran away earlier. Roman yelped in shock. "Wait! What about Virgil?"

Logan rolled his eyes "You honestly think Patton would forget about his 'dark strange son'? That's why he isn't with us. He went to find Virgil and the trait who decided to invade this time."

Roman let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness."

Logan surveyed Roman for a few seconds, making the Royal trait blush slightly. "What?" Roman snapped and Logan just raised an eyebrow and looked away.

"So, who's the trait that's in the main mindspace then?" Roman asked, changing the subject to ease the awkward silence.

Logan scowled. "Apathy. He's cold, uncaring and ambitious. He's the complete opposite of Patton with a view on success and work that closely matches my own. He will use anything and everything to get what he wants, no matter who he hurts physically and emotionally to get there."

Roman frowned "He's been in the main mindspace before then? Patton said 'He's back' so what happened last time?"

Logan closed his eyes as he recounted what happened. "This was ages ago, possibly a year before you appeared. It was just me and Patton and we didn't particularly get on but we could work together civilly enough. We were having a discussion about whether Thomas should focus on making friends or working on his grades when the whole mindspace dropped in temperature and Patton had a sort of convulsion. I tried to ask what was wrong and found my hand over my own mouth, making me unable to speak or make a noise. That was Deceits work, obviously, he strutted into the room with that infuriating smile of his but next to him was Apathy. He looked like a colder, emotionless version of Patton except he didn't have a cardigan around his neck and he had his hair slicked back so none of it was in his face. He looked very professional and although I could tell there was something off about him I couldn't stop myself from thinking in that second that he would probably be better company than Patton."

Roman made a noise in the back of his throat and Logan opened his eyes, glaring at him. "Don't interrupt. I said for a second that's what I thought, don't start jumping to conclusions."

Roman fell silent again and Logan continued. "He walked over to me with a completely blank expression and gestured for Deceit to release me. He was quite obviously the one in charge out of the two because Deceit didn't even hesitate. When my mouth was uncovered I tried to say something but he cut me off. His voice was breathy and made me shudder slightly. He said "You seem like a rational guy so I'm going to give you the option to walk away. Step away from him, walk out of the room and don't look back." of course I hesitated, trying to figure out what his end game was and I didn't like the smirk on Deceits face when I eventually stood up so I tried to ask why. Apathy didn't like that so he stepped closer until he was right in my face and it was difficult not to step back, he is one intimidating guy. He told me that if I didn't hurry up and leave I'd be first. I didn't have a clue what he meant by that but I decided it probably wasn't good and if I left he'd do whatever it was he was talking about to Patton who was sitting on the floor behind me."

Logan stopped talking as he was overwhelmed by the memories of what had happened and Roman was shocked when he saw a couple tears running down the usually composed traits face. 

"Logan? Are you alright?" Roman asked and Logan wiped his face quickly to get rid of any tears.

"yes, I apologise, I merely became overwhelmed for a few moments." Logan responded in a low voice. "I didn't have the same bond with Patton back then as I do now but I still felt uneasy about leaving him, especially after he had what I believed to be some sort of fit. I asked what they were going to do with him once I'd left and Deceit was going to answer but Apathy clicked his fingers and Deceit flinched and refrained from talking. Apathy obviously had had enough of me asking questions because he grabbed me by the arm and threw me on the floor. It... It was the most excruciating thing I've ever experienced and I'm not going to deny that I screamed. His touch was so cold it burned and he probably would have caused more permanent damage if Patton hadn't intervened. I... I didn't even know why. We were hardly close and I was under the impression he merely tolerated me but the second I screamed he was up on his feet with one of the most terrifying looks on his face I've ever seen. He shoved Apathy away from me and didn't seem affected by the cold at all. He grabbed both Apathy and Deceit by their arms and physically dragged them out of the room. I managed to get to my feet and make my way to the door in time to see him push them through a sort of portal. I was shivering uncontrollably at the time and my vision was a little hazy, as if I were peering through frosted glass. Patton came back and spent hours with me, warming me up temperature wise and helping me recover."

A long silence followed Logans story as Roman absorbed everything and when Roman eventually opened his mouth to speak he was interrupted by the sound of an enormous crash from the hallway.

"What was that?" Roman asked and Logan frowned as he strained his ears to listen.

"How dare you!" came an enraged shout.

Roman gasped "Is that Patton?"

Logan nodded, a look of concern on his face. "He rarely uses that voice unless...."

Suddenly the door was opened and a figure took a step inside before slumping to the floor unconscious.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: violence, forced kisses, angst.

"Virgil!" Roman exclaimed and rushed over, falling to his knees next to the unconscious trait.

Virgils skin was icy cold and made Roman shudder as he picked him up so he could put him on the couch.

"He looks like he's been exposed to Apathys touch, let me see if I can figure out where it originated from." Logan muttered, going into analysis mode.

Logans eyes scanned Virgils face and he jolted back in horror as he realised exactly what had happened.

"What? Logan what's wrong?" Roman asked frantically.

"Apathy kissed him."

Logans whispered answer made Roman feel like someone had stabbed him in the chest and his thoughts immediately began to race.

Did Virgil want the kiss? Did he kiss back? Or did Apathy force him? How did Apathy manage to get that close if Virgil didn't agree to it?

Logan must have spotted the different emotions flitting across Romans face because he said "I don't think Virgil consented to the kiss, there are tear streaks down his face."

Roman felt the pain in his chest again but this time he could also feel his anger mounting. "Why are we in here? Why aren't we out there helping Patton get that son of a...."

"Roman calm down! You can't go out there because he would utterly destroy you. The only reason Patton can touch him without freezing is because of how strongly he feels emotions. The heat of his anger protects him from the cold of Apathys skin." Logan quickly interrupted, trying to make the creative trait see reason.

"Right now I feel like I could melt the North Pole I am so pissed, why can't I go out and..."

Roman immediately stopped mid shout as Virgil let out a small whimper.

"Virgil, can you hear me?" Roman asked in a soft voice, holding one of the traits hands in his own as the other hand brushed his bangs out of his face.

Virgil let out another whimper and shifted slightly, but didn't respond or open his eyes.

Logan shook his head at the sudden change in Romans voice, the creative trait was quite clearly smitten. "You have to stay in here to look after Virgil. Patton entrusted us with that."

Roman looked from Virgil to the door, narrowing his eyes as he thought it over. "What if something happens to Patton? What will..."

"If something does happen, I will go out. Not you. You need to gradually warm Virgil up and keep an eye on him in case he wakes up." Logan blurted out, a look of determination on his face.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Patton watched Logan lead Roman to the safe room and then set off down the corridor, his one goal being to get Virgil to safety as well.

As he approached Virgils door the temperature began to drop and Pattons eyes narrowed furiously.

He wasted no time in opening the door and let out an almost animalistic growl at the sight of a very dazed Virgil in Apathys hold.

"Let him go!"

Apathy looked at Patton blankly before he smirked and let go of Virgil.

Virgil suddenly reached a hand out and grabbed Apathy, letting out a small sigh as he clung to him.

Patton eyed Virgil for a few seconds in confusion before realisation hit him and his expression darkened. "Apathy, you have 5 seconds to get out of the main mindspace."

"If I leave so does Virgil. He seems rather attached to me." Apathy said, running a hand through Virgils hair and smiling wickedly when he shuddered and leaned into the sensation.

Pattons hands were clenched into fists and he was visibly shaking with rage as he muttered. "Get your hands off him."

Apathy tilted his head in mock confusion. "Did you say get my hands off him? Well I guess I better do that then."

Apathy removed his hand from Virgils hair but before Patton could react he pulled him in for a kiss, making Virgil yelp as his ice cold tongue invaded his mouth.

Patton lunged at Apathy and pulled him away from Virgil violently, sending the cold trait crashing into the wall.

"How dare you!" Patton roared, anger controlling his every action. He grabbed a hold of Virgil and half dragged, half carried him to the safe room where he pushed him inside and shut the door again so he could focus back on Apathy.

"What? Am I not allowed to greet an old associate? Me and Virgil were quite close years ago." Apathy said, having walked out of Virgils room, rubbing his arm where he'd collided with the wall.

"You're going to leave now or I might just put an end to you." Patton snarled, holding himself back slightly as he knew if he gave in to his anger Apathy would be ripped apart and Patton didn't want to sink to that level.

Apathy gave Patton a mocking smile "bring it Morality, I'll just end up coming back and hurting someone else like last time. That reminds me, how is Logic? Does he still get phantom pains in his arm from what I did?"

Patton lunged at Apathy and his fist connected with his ice cold cheek. Apathy responded by grabbing hold of Pattons shoulders, digging his fingertips in painfully as he spoke.

"Logic won't be able to help Virgil, this isn't the first time he's been through this."

Patton grit his teeth and muttered "Maybe not but it will be the last if I can help it." he then headbutted Apathy in the face.

Apathy reeled backwards clutching his face for a few seconds before sending Patton a smug look. "Oh it will be the last time, I guarantee it one way or another."

Pattons anger flickered slightly. "What?"

"Oh you didn't know? Virgil used to be really bad at dealing with his feelings and relied on me to make them all just disappear. He's an addict and eventually he's going to fall apart like he used to when I would refrain from touching him. He's a ticking time bomb and there's nothing you can do."

Patton scowled at Apathy and tried to hit him again, gasping in horror as he felt a cold burn on his hand from where it made contact.

"Oh whoops are you too worried about Virgil to be able to maintain your anger? That's a real shame." Apathy taunted and grabbed hold of Pattons arm, relishing in the way the emotional trait hissed in pain from his cold grasp.

"You can't hurt them!" Patton growled, feeling his body start to shake from the coldness. "They're safe away from you!"

Apathy tightened his grip, making tears of agony roll down Pattons face. "For now, but when they learn I have you they'll come out of hiding and attempt some sort of foolish rescue."

Pattons knees gave out as the cold seemed to be absorbed directly into his very bones and his whole body felt weak.

Apathy let out a loud laugh and dragged Patton over to the portal that separated the mindspaces. "I have some people who'd quite enjoy the chance to talk to you Morality, let's not keep them waiting."

With that Apathy stepped through the portal, leaving the main mindspace to slowly start to warm up again.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: mentions of violence, blood and torture. Angst inbound.

Logan paced up and down the room, checking the time frequently with ever growing impatience.

Roman watched the logical trait but couldn't think of any words that might comfort him, he was getting just as worried but he also had to look after Virgil.

Roman glanced down, a sad smile on his face as he looked at where Virgils hands had instinctively grabbed a hold of his clothes.

The anxious trait was still cold but his lips had returned to a more natural shade and he no longer had the appearance of Jack from the end of the Titanic.

"It's been one hour and 27 minutes! Patton shouldn't be taking this long!" Logan exclaimed, his eyes fixed on the door.

"Peek your head out of the door or something. That way you can just quickly dart back in if you see Apathy." Roman said.

Logan frowned and walked over to the door planning on doing exactly that.

When Logan poked his head out of the door the first thing he noticed was the warmth of the corridor.

There was also no signs of Apathy or Patton anywhere that he could see, which didn't make sense as he clearly heard Pattons shout from almost directly outside.

Logan stepped out into the corridor and looked both ways, trying to push away the uncomfortable feeling in his gut.

"Logan?" Roman called, concerned for the trait who seemed to be lost deep in thought.

"It's too warm." Logan muttered and set off towards Virgils room, wanting to double check there as that was the most likely place Apathy could have hidden.

Logan merely glanced into the open door, already knowing that the lack of cold was due to Apathy no longer being present.

His search was more of something to distract himself from the one thought that was running through his mind.

Where was Patton?

Logan ended up searching everywhere, becoming almost frantic when he still couldn't find him anywhere.

Roman sat in the safe room for a little while but eventually grew concerned as he heard Logan muttering to himself. Roman got to his feet, picking Virgil up and carrying him with him out of the room to find Logan.

Logan was standing in the middle of the lounge his body trembling and his hands clenching and unclenching at his sides.

"Logan? What's wrong?"

"P... Pattons not here." Logan stated almost stumbling over his words as he admitted that.

"What are you talking about? I'm still here." Said a voice from the doorway and they turned to see Patton with his usual beaming grin.

"Patton? Where were you?" Roman asked in relief.

"Oh, I was just making sure that lowlife couldn't come back to hurt any of you." Patton said with a smile.

Logan looked at Patton for a few seconds his eyes narrowed as he scanned him intently.

"Apathy kissed Virgil." Logan said, not even bothering to acknowledge Romans annoyed huff.

Patton nodded with a small smile "Yes but I stopped him, we're safe now."

Logan walked closer to Patton his gaze calculating as he took in Pattons features.

"you're not Patton." Logan said in a low voice.

"What? Logan, what are you talking about? Of course I am."

"No! You're not Patton so where the hell is he?" Logan demanded and shoved 'Patton' against a wall harshly.

"I am Patton." Was the response he got and Logan let out a growl of frustration, his hands closing around 'Pattons' neck.

"No you're fucking not! Patton wouldn't have smiled at being reminded of what Apathy did to Virgil, he would have scowled or asked how Virgil was. You did neither therefore you're not Patton so tell me where the fuck he is!"

Roman stared open mouthed at all this, unsure what to do. He couldn't do much even if he wanted to as he had Virgil in his arms.

'Patton' choked and gasped out "OK! OK, I'm not Patton! Let me go!"

Logan tightened his grip. "Where is he?"

The imposters eyes bulged slightly in his head and he shifted back to his original form, revealing him to be Deceit.

"A... Apathy has him... Please... Stop." Deceit managed to get out, his eyes full of desperation.

"Logan! Let him go!" Roman said and for a few seconds he thought Logan was going to ignore him but eventually the logical trait let go.

Deceit took several deep breaths, massaging his neck and eyeing Logan warily.

Roman carefully put Virgil down on the couch, reluctantly pulling his hands off of him so he could stop Logan and Deceit killing each other if he had to.

"Where did Apathy take him and why?"

Deceits eyes flickered to Roman and he muttered "He took him to our part of the mindspace."

"Why?" Logan asked in a low voice.

Deceit shifted uncomfortably. "I don't know."

"Bullshit! Tell us why or..." Logan growled, taking a threatening step forwards.

"He's bait! Apathy wants you all to try and rescue Patton so he can get hold of all of you!" Deceit blurted out then his eyes widened.

"Oh shit! I wasn't supposed to tell you that! I was supposed to just say he was going to hurt Patton. Oh shit shit shit shit shit! I'm so fucking dead."

"What?" Roman asked, and lunged forward, grabbing Deceit when he tried to make a run for it.

"Let me go! Please! I... I have to go before Apathy finds out!" Deceit exclaimed but Roman didn't let go.

"You're going to have to start explaining or things are going to start getting painful." Logan muttered.

"Logan! No! We're not going to lower ourselves to Apathys level. Deceit will talk, unless he wants Apathy to find out he got found out and accidentally blurted out the real plan to us." Roman said, sending an unpleasant smile at Deceit who's face had paled considerably.

"I... I was told to pretend to be Patton and eventually reveal myself and tell you that Apathy had Patton and you'd never see him again. I... I fucked up though. I fucked up so bad.... Apathy isn't very forgiving of mistakes and I had hoped if I pulled this off he would maybe overlook my past mistakes but now I'm almost certain he's going to kill me." Deceits voice shook and there seemed to be tears welling up in his eyes.

Roman sighed. "How do we know you're telling the truth? You're the embodiment of Deceit so this could be an act."

Deceit looked at Roman and then at Logan warily before looking down at the floor, tears finally spilling down his face as he spoke in a quiet voice. "if you want proof, I'll show you proof."

Deceit began to pull his gloves off with shaky hands and Roman gasped in horror as he caught sight of what lay beneath.

"A... Apathy did that to you?" He asked.

Deceit nodded, not even looking at his scarred up hands. Part of the reason he wore gloves was because he couldn't bare to see the things Apathy had done to him, especially the large letter A that he'd branded into his palm.

"what did you do for him to do that to you?" Logan asked, pointing at the A and Deceit shuddered.

"That's what happened when T... Thomas found out about me. Apathy... He wanted him to be c... Completely oblivious but then I... I went and ruined things."

Logan and Roman exchanged shocked looks before Roman addressed Deceit.

"How do we get to where Apathy is keeping Patton without Apathy finding out?"

Deceit pulled his gloves back on and replied "You can't. Apathy is keeping Patton by him at all times. He doesn't want to risk you slipping in and getting him without being detected. He thinks the others are imbeciles which isn't wrong but it means it's pretty much impossible to get to Patton without Apathy knowing."

"Logan, you've met him before, what are the chances we can sneak in and strike down Apathy and then get out with Patton?" Roman asked.

Logan frowned "Apathy is clearly the one in charge of the other mindspace which makes him pretty powerful. It's not impossible, but I doubt the odds are particularly high either."

"I'm sure we can pull it off. We just need to get into the other mindspace and remain undetected until we spot Apathy. Then we can ambush him before he even knows we're there and then we can take Patton and get out."

Logan opened his mouth to point out several things Roman had glossed over but was cut off by a choking sound.

All three of them spun round to look at the couch where Virgil was laying. He appeared to be choking or struggling to breathe.

Roman immediately ran over and let out a cry of dismay as he turned Virgil onto his side and the anxious trait vomited a bright scarlet coloured liquid.

Virgils eye lids fluttered open slightly and he groaned but after a few seconds he was back to being unconscious.

"W...what just happened?" Roman asked, his voice shaking.

Logan was quickly checking Virgils airways were clear and his pulse, his face completely devoid of emotion.

"That's the effect Apathy has on him." Deceit murmured, his eyes locked onto Virgil with a hint of sadness.

"what do you mean?"

Deciet sighed. "Apathy has the ability to make a person completely numb and that was something Virgil wished for. He'd rather be numb than feel all the anxiety and panic. After a while though Apathys numbness became like a drug and he became dependant on it. It was terrifying to watch and there was a few moments where he had withdrawals, which involved him vomiting blood or even slamming his head into things to try and knock himself unconscious. Apathy grew busy though and Virgil managed to pull himself away and then the best thing that could have ever happened, happened. He became a main trait where he could no longer be exposed to Apathy and his addiction dwindled until it was pretty much gone. Obviously the exposure to Apathys ability again has triggered some of the things that used to happen when he had withdrawals. The best thing to do is to just leave him to slowly come round. As long as he doesn't choke on his own blood, he should be fine."

That was a lot of information for the two conscious traits to take in and it took a few minutes before they responded.

"If Apathy used his ability on Virgil again what would happen?" Roman asked, worry in his voice.

Deceit shrugged "I don't know, it could either cause him to pass out like this or it could do something as extreme as kill him. I'm not an expert, I don't have all the answers."

Logan spoke up next, a frown on his face. "One of us needs to stay here with Virgil. We don't know when he'll recover enough to walk around unassisted and besides we don't need him getting on the wrong end of Apathys ability again."

Roman nodded. "Who though? Deceit can't because he knows his way through the other mindspace so it'll have to be one of us."

"You're the best swordsman but that won't matter if you're too busy worrying about Virgil. Then there's me, I'm better prepared for medical emergencies but I'm better at strategy and tactics so the sneaking around and ambushing thing would probably be better suited for me. There are so many reasons both of us could go or stay." Logan said.

Roman looked down at Virgil for a few seconds and muttered "I'll stay here, you're right that I'd be too distracted worrying if he was OK or not. Besides I know you'd be slightly distracted by your worry for Patton if you stayed here so it makes more sense for you to go."

Logan nodded in agreement with Romans reasoning.

Deceit looked between the two, a slightly confused expression on his face as he listened to their conversation.

"I'll need to get a few things from my room but after that I'm leaving immediately." Logan stated and headed out of the room, beckoning Deceit to follow.

Deceit glanced at Roman before following Logan out of the room.

Once they were out of earshot and view of Roman, Logan suddenly turned and grabbed Deceit by the collar.

"I'm warning you now Deceit, if I get any sign, any hint that you're trying to trick me or purposefully get us caught, I will end you! The only thing I care about is getting Patton back so if you prevent me from doing that then it'll be the very last thing you do. That's a promise!"

Logans voice was a low growl and he was right in Deceits face, his eyes full of anger.

"I... I won't..." Deceit tried to speak but fell silent as Logan released him and shoved him a few steps back.

Logan strode into his room, leaving Deceit in the hallway to think over the threat.

Logan seemed very adamant about Patton being his main concern which immediately had Deceit wondering if the logical trait had a deeper reason for wanting to rescue him other than for Thomas's sake.

Deceit didn't get much time to theorise as Logan came back out into the corridor, a look of dislike on his face.

"Let's not waste any time, the sooner we get going the sooner we can get Patton back here." Logan said, walking towards where the portal to the other mindspace was located, not bothering to see if Deceit was following.

Deceit put a hand on the portal to open it with a small sigh but was stopped from entering by Logan.

"We both go at the same time, otherwise who knows what you might do."

Deceit ignored the complete distrust Logan had for him, he was used to it and would have been more concerned if Logan wasn't cautious about everything he said.

Logans hand gripped his wrist tightly and Deceit muttered "Let's get it over with then." and they fell through the portal, leaving Roman and Virgil as the only traits in the main mindspace for the time being.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: mentions of torture, blood, violence, lots of angst. Sorry in advance.

Pattons eyesight was hazy and he blinked a few times to try and clear it but it didn't seem to help.

He could hear voices murmuring and could just about make out several shadowy figures standing around him.

He tried to rub his eyes but as he moved a hand he heard the clink of chains and realised that his arms were restrained to something, possibly the arms of a chair.

He could remember being dragged through the portal by Apathy but after that everything was blank. He guessed he'd probably been knocked unconscious or something.

"Oh look, our guest seems to finally be awake." The familiar voice of Apathy said and there was some laughter from the other people. "He's usually quite talkative but maybe he's got a dry throat? Give him some water."

Patton barely had time to brace himself as ice cold water was dumped on top of him.

His eye sight cleared up and he was finally able to see his surroundings.

He was chained to a chair in a dark room made of black marble and there were 4 people around him. Apathy, Irrationality, Sloth and Jealousy.

"What do you want with me?" Patton asked with a frown and Irrationality let out a dark chuckle.

"You're our new toy!" the crazed side clapped his hands excitedly and bounced slightly on the spot, a deranged grin on his face. His voice was high and grating.

"I want the first go!" Jealousy announced in a sulky bitter sounding voice, sending a scowl at Irrationality who had taken a step closer.

Patton eyed the traits, trying to force down any trace of fear. He'd always been good at hiding his pain and fear and sorrow so he was sure he'd manage to get through whatever they were going to throw at him.

"Now boys, don't forget what I said." Apathy said with his arms crossed and an eyebrow raised.

Jealousy rolled his eyes and Irrationality pouted. "Not to break him right away."

"That's correct but don't be so sad Irrationality, when the others come to try and rescue him you'll have more toys to play with and you can break him as much as you want then. Preferably in front of them."

Apathy patted Irrationality on the shoulder, making the trait shudder.

Patton glared at Apathy. "Any particular reason you felt like you needed to restrain me?"

"because it's easier than constantly watching you all the time to keep you from escaping. Duh. It's too much effort to chase after people." Sloth spoke up for the first time, his low voice sounding exactly like when Thomas woke up in the mornings.

"Really? Are you sure it's not because he's scared? Scared that I'll out smart him or beat him in a fight. He's a coward." Patton said, feeling amused when Irrationality snorted and began to taunt the apathetic side.

"oooh burn! Apathy is a coward! Moo! Cow ward cow war..." his words were cut off as Apathy punched him in the face and he collapsed to the floor with a yelp of pain.

"That is enough out of you and for your information I am not scared. I am not as plebeian as you that I feel such weak things. I am Apathy. I do not feel anything." Apathy stared straight at Patton who glared back defiantly.

This went on for a while until Apathy said "Jealousy, you can begin."

Patton tore his eyes away from Apathy just in time to see the baseball bat which connected with the side of his face with a loud crack.

He couldn't hold back the noise of pain as his head snapped to the side and he felt the sting on his face.

"Oooo my turn!" Irrationally cried, jumping to his feet as if he hadn't just been punched.

Pattons eyes widened as Irrationality pulled out a lighter, flicked it on and began holding it closer to his bare arm.

"Hey! No fair! Why does he get a lighter?" Jealousy complained and shoved Irrationality, causing the lighter to press into Pattons skin and make him shriek in pain.

Jealousy and Irrationality looked at Patton and then each other before high-fiving at their unintentional teamwork.

"Hmm, most impressive, do it again but somewhere more sensitive." Apathy said, smirking at Patton who was breathing heavily to try and calm himself down.

Irrationality giggled, walked around Patton until he was behind him and pressed the lighter to the back of Pattons neck

Patton let out an agonised scream that echoed around the marble room and mixed with the crazed laughter coming from the insane trait.

While that happened Jealousy lifted his bat again and hit Patton in the stomach, cutting off the scream momentarily as he winded him but it started again as Irrationality continued to find areas to burn.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Deceit glanced around cautiously as he appeared in a dark grey corridor, trying to ignore the glare Logan was giving him.

"I have a few ideas of where Apathy might have put Patton." Deceit said in a low voice and started heading in the direction of one of the places he thought Patton might be.

Logan grabbed Deceit by the arm and pulled him to a stop. "Remember what I said. If this is all just an elaborate ruse I will make sure to take you down with me."

Deceit sighed. "Yes I know, now quickly down this way before someone sees us."

The two quietly darted down a corridor which gradually got darker in colour until they found themselves surrounded by pitch black walls.

Logan eyed the fluorescent lights above them critically, shaking his head at how dramatic the 'dark sides' were.

Deceit paused at a split in the corridor and looked both ways before heading down the one on the left which appeared to be a slightly lighter shade of black.

Logan frowned and followed, making sure he was close enough to grab Deceit if he tried anything.

The two of them came to an immediate halt after 5 minutes as the sound of a scream came from the other path.

Logans heart began thumping and his gut instinct told him Patton was the one screaming so he started sprinting towards where the sound was coming from.

Deceit let out a frustrated groan and took off after him, hoping to grab him before he burst into a room full of people.

Logan was a lot faster than he looked but Deceit was slightly faster and managed to tackle Logan when he was halfway towards the door, which obviously had Patton behind it if the volume of the scream was anything to go on.

"Let me go!" Logan growled and struggled against Deceit who clung to him desperately trying to reason with him.

"If you burst in there you'll be caught and tortured as well! Then Roman will have to come rescue both of you and leave Virgil on his own in the mindspace. Is that what you want?"

Logan stopped struggling as Deceits words broke through his anger and need to protect Patton.

Deceit let out a relieved sigh and pushed himself off of Logan, offering him a hand up which Logan eyed suspiciously for a second before accepting it.

They both winced as another scream echoed down the corridor and Logan quickly began to try and think of a way to get to Patton.

"How good are you at fighting?" Logan asked Deceit who was slightly taken aback by the question. "Decent enough that I can protect myself, why?"

"Well, I was thinking we could lure the other sides out here by means of a distraction and then render them unconscious or something. Then we only have Apathy to deal with."

Deceit shuddered. "I don't know Logan, Apathy is too good a fighter to be bested by us. He's ruthless and far too strong."

"What do you suggest then? Because I am all ears if you've got something better." Logan snapped and Deceit sighed.

"So how do we distract the other sides?"

"I'm thinking one of us could get far away and shout or something to draw attention. I'm sure Apathy would send someone to go see what the sound was but he wouldn't go himself because he'd want to keep an eye on Patton." Logan explained.

"I'm guessing by 'one of us' you mean me huh?"

"That is correct. Surely they'd come running if they heard you scream for help or something?" Logan said and was confused at the look that passed over Deceits face but it was gone before he could analyse it further.

"OK, I uh, I'll go do that. Plus I know my way around so it'd make sense for me to go because I won't get lost." Deceit said with a forced smile.

Logan opened his mouth as if he was going to say something but instead shut it again and nodded.

Deceit began to walk back down the hall until he came to the crossroads again and he took a deep breath.

Then he began screaming and shouting for help, ignoring the feeling in his gut.

Logan waited in the very corner of the corridor, his eyes fixed on the door but it showed no signs of opening.

Pattons screaming had stopped and there was no way they couldn't hear Deceits scream yet they weren't trying to go help. This made no sense to Logan at all.

Surely they'd want to go find their friend and see what was wrong?

All of a sudden the scream cut off and Logan tensed up. The silence was unnerving and despite how he disliked Deceit he was slightly concerned about what had happened to him.

Before Logan could think any more on what could have happened to Deceit, the door opened and two people walked out.

"What do you think is up with the snake this time?"

"Maybe he saw his reflection and realised how ugly he is?"

Logans eyes widened as the two burst into laughter. This was not how friends spoke about each other so did that mean Deceit wasn't friends with them?

A third voice spoke up. "As amusing as this is can we get checking on him over and done with? If it was up to me I wouldn't even bother checking on him. It's such a waste of energy. I mean, if he's hurt who cares and if he's dead, who cares?"

There was more laughter and then the three walked down the corridor leaving a stunned Logan in the corner, thinking over what he'd just heard.

He only came out of his thoughts when someone tapped him on the shoulder.

Deceit was panting from having run back and his eyes looked a little red as if he'd been crying but Logan decided not to comment. They had other things to do first.

The two walked through the door and locked it behind them so the other three traits couldn't get back in if they returned.

"Oh would you look at this? The snake brought me a gift! You're just in time, I almost thought no one was coming to save this weak little thing." Apathy taunted, gesturing to the floor where Patton was laying among splinters of wood that appeared to have once been a chair.

Logan gasped in horror as he took in all the marks and blood that covered Patton and the way his breathing seemed ragged, almost as if he were struggling to draw breath.

"What did you do to him?" Logan demanded, taking a step towards Apathy who seemed more amused than anything.

"Just a bit of light torture, you know all the normal stuff. Burning, beating, cutting, branding."

Deceit flinched as Apathy said branding, hiding his hand behind his back instinctively as he remembered his own brand.

Logan was beyond angry at this point and lunged at Apathy, completely ignoring the way his skin stung from being in contact with Apathys.

While Apathy and Logan fought, Deceit hurried over to Patton and tried to figure out some way to help.

Pattons eyelids flickered open and he spotted Deceit hovering above him but made no attempt to move.

"Patton? Can you hear me?"

Patton nodded, his throat raw from screaming so he didn't want to speak unless he had to.

"I'm here with Logan, we're going to save you!"

Logan grunted as Apathys fist caught him in the face but grit his teeth and pushed away his pain so he could fight back.

Logans foot caught Apathy in the crotch, making the cold trait double over with a groan.

Logan followed up the kick with a strong punch to the side of Apathys head, rendering him unconscious.

Logan grinned before his legs gave out and he began to feel the full effect of Apathys freezing touch.

Deceit stood looking around the room at the three traits, all of them laying on the floor in varying states of pain and injury.

He put his hands on his head and started pacing, unsure what to do. Patton was clearly in no state to walk, Logan was suffering from where he'd made so much skin contact with Apathy and Apathy could wake up at any minute.

That's when he got an idea. His bedroom wasn't too far away and he had his own portal there. If he could get them to his room then they'd be able to escape no problem.

The only issue would be trying to avoid the other traits who were wandering the halls looking for him.

Deceit walked over to Logan and pulled him to his feet. "come on Logan, we've got to get Patton out of here."

Logan was tempted to just stay where he was but at the mention of Patton he found his strength again and forced himself over to where the moral trait was laying.

Between Logan and Deceit they managed to lift Patton and carry him towards the door with little incident.

"follow me and try to stay as quiet as you can. The last thing we want is for the others to find us." Deceit murmured as he opened the door and stepped into the corridor.

Logan stepped out with him, stumbling slightly but managing to remain upright.

They made their way down the corridor and Deceit turned down a small side hallway, shifting Patton slightly so they could all fit.

Just as they came to a stop outside Deceits door a high pitched voice came from behind them along with the sound of approaching footsteps.

"Deceit! Come out, come out wherever you are!"

Deceit froze for a second before quickly opening his door and shoving the other two inside.

"Logan, the portal is behind that huge curtain. You take Patton back to the mindspace to heal him and I'll stall the others as long as I can so they don't follow you back." he said in a rush.

Logan frowned in confusion and opened his mouth to speak, but whether it was to protest about being told what to do or something else Deceit wasn't sure because the footsteps were getting closer.

Deceit pushed Logan towards the curtain and then walked back out into the corridor, closing his door behind him with a soft click.

Logan pulled the curtain aside and hesitated as he heard voices outside the door.

"What was all that screaming about earlier little snakey?"

"I merely saw a spider which caught me by surprise."

"Well whatever it was, you interrupted my play time! Jealousy isn't happy either, he'll probably kill you if he finds you. Luckily I found you first which means I get to have some fun first."

Logans eyes widened as the door rattled from what sounded like Deceit getting shoved into it.

"Surely it'd be more fun if you let me have a ten second head start and then chase after me? Surely finding me just standing here was sort of boring?" Deceit asked and there was a moment of silence before Irrationality responded.

"Hmm that doesn't sound like a bad idea. OK, start slithering then and we'll see how far you get before I catch you."

Logan felt the effects of Apathys touch starting to effect him again and was brought back to the situation at hand. He was supporting Patton as best he could but it was only a matter of time before the pain got to him and he wouldn't be able to carry him anymore.

So with that thought Logan stepped through the portal and found himself back in the main mindspace.

It took a few seconds for him to realise that he was actually back but when he did he instantly called for Roman.

Roman appeared nearly right away and gasped as he saw the state of them both.

He quickly helped lift Patton onto a bed where they could attempt to heal the worst of his injuries and then turned to Logan with a concerned expression.

"What the heck happened?"

Logan took a deep breath and began to explain.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warnings: mentions of blood, violence, torture, branding

Deceit was running through the corridors, sending the occasional glance over his shoulder to see if Irrationality was there.

He was hoping to lose him but he knew that wouldn't happen because although the corridors were a maze for most people, the dark sides knew their way around off by heart because they grew up here.

He turned a corner and skidded to a stop as he spotted Jealousy at the end of the corridor. He spun round and sprinted in the opposite direction, speeding up when he heard Jealousy shout for him to stop.

He risked a glance over his shoulder and shuddered slightly at the sight of both Jealousy and Irrationality chasing him.

He ignored their shouts and threats of what would happen if they caught him, focusing more on running.

He'd always been quite fast, mostly because he had to be to avoid the others, but it had helped when he had to tackle Logan earlier.

He rounded a corner and collided with a wall that he had no memory of being there.

It was only when the wall seemed to grow arms and grab him that he realised it wasn't a wall, it was Sloth.

The other two came to a stop behind him as he struggled to get free of Sloths grip.

"Looks like you caught the scaly fucker then." Jealousy said, glaring at Deceit fiercely.

Sloth shrugged. "he kind of ran into me so it wasn't too difficult."

"dibs I get the first hit!" Irrationality exclaimed with a malicious grin and Deceit struggled harder but it was no use.

Sloth lived up to his name because he had one heckin strong grip and Deceit eventually stopped wriggling, breathing heavily from his escape attempt.

"No, we should get him back to Apathy or it'll be your ass that gets frozen." Sloth said, turning and starting to drag Deceit towards the room Apathy was in.

Deceit closed his eyes for a few seconds, knowing that there was no escape for him now and he'd have to endure whatever Apathy did to him.

The door was opened, he was dragged inside and thrown to the floor.

Apathy was still unconscious on the floor, causing the three dark sides to exchange surprised expressions before Irrationality grinned and leapt at the unconscious trait, slapping him in the face as he exclaimed "Wakey Wakey! We brought you a gift!"

Apathys eyes shot open and one hand grabbed Irrationalitys wrist as he went to slap him in the face again.

"Get off of me." he muttered and pushed Irrationality away from him as he got to his feet.

He looked around, spotted Deceit on the floor and a cruel smile spread across his face. "You caught the traitorous snake then? He helped Logic rescue Morality."

Deceit swallowed nervously as he felt everyone's eyes on him. He hoped that whatever they did to him would be over quickly but he knew that wasn't likely.

Apathy walked towards him in a deliberate manner and stopped directly in front of him with a hand out, palm upwards.

"Hand me my branding tools, it seems like he needs a more permanent lesson."

Deceit jumped to his feet and made a run for the door but Irrationality was quicker and tackled him to the floor.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Roman paced up and down the corridor, occasionally stopping to peer into the rooms where the others were. After Logan managed to tell him everything that happened the logical trait collapsed so Roman had had to put him into bed to recover from his run in with Apathy.

Logan and Patton were in the same room while Roman had left Virgil on the couch and he stopped to check in on them all as he paced, his mind working to try and predict what Apathy's next move would be.

Surely Apathy would take the opportunity to attack sooner rather than later? it made more sense because that meant the only one of the traits capable of being any sort of trouble would be Roman as the other three were not in any fit state to fight.

Roman had his sword strapped to his waist, ready to grab at a moments notice. He wouldn't need to even get close to Apathy with it so he hoped it would be enough if Apathy did attack.

As Roman made another turn and prepared himself to walk back to where he'd left Virgil the entire mindspace suddenly shook and Roman froze, eyes wide in terror as he realised something.

In everything that had been going on they'd all forgotten that everything they did had an effect on Thomas.

Roman had no idea what sort of state Thomas was in considering that three of his main traits were incapacitated. If the shaking was any indication, it was nothing short of disastrous. Roman had no clue what he was supposed to do in this situation.

Did he go see how Thomas was? Did he just let things play out? Did he go confront Apathy? 

His panicked thinking was interrupted by a groan which Roman instantly recognised as Virgils and he ran to where he'd left him.

"Virgil? Are you OK?" Roman asked worriedly.

Virgil blinked and slowly sat up, holding a hand to his head with a frown. "What happened, where am I?" he asked, his voice croaky and rough from lack of use.

"You're on the couch, Apathy managed to get hold of you but Patton got to you just in time and me and Logan looked after you for a bit."

Roman was scanning Virgil for any sign that might tell him if Virgil was OK or not.

Virgil frowned and put a hand to his chest which ached from the cold. "Where are the other two then?"

Roman paused, uncertain if he should tell Virgil the truth or not but when he saw the look on Virgils face he decided it would be best to tell him everything.

Virgil sat silent for a few minutes after Roman explained everything and Roman was concerned Virgil had zoned out and not heard anything up until Virgil muttered "Rin has gone too far this time. If it was just me I'd probably let it slide but he got hold of Patton, Logan and is probably torturing poor Dee as we speak. As soon as I've warmed up a bit more I'm going to go tell him exactly what I think of him."

Roman was momentarily stunned and quickly tried to convince Virgil not to. "You can't, he'll hurt you again and Deceit said if he got hold of you again you could possibly die and I don't want to lose you! I care about you too much to let you go face him."

There was a slightly awkward tense pause as they both realised what Roman had just said but Roman made no attempt to correct himself. He meant every word.

Virgil felt a flutter of hope in his chest which he promptly squashed down. That didn't matter right now, he had a snake to save.

Virgil swung his legs over the edge of the couch and pushed himself to his feet, wobbling ever so slightly.

"Virgil you've just woken up, you can't..."

Virgil glared at Roman so fiercely that he cut himself off. "Don't start telling me what I can and can't do, especially when Deceits survival depends on my ability to intervene in time."

Roman surveyed Virgil for a brief moment, taking note of the determination and anger glinting in his eyes, and let out a sigh. "OK fine, I... I won't stop you. In fact, I'm coming with you!"

Virgil was caught off guard by Romans sudden change in attitude but thoughts of what Deceit could be suffering through made him push that away and start walking to the portals, stumbling slightly as his legs recovered from the lack of use.

Roman followed closely behind, keeping an eye on Virgil in case he needed to catch him or steady him in any way.

Virgil stopped at the portals and gave Roman one last look before grabbing his arm and tugging him through the portal.

Roman almost fell as he landed in a dark grey corridor but was more focused on Virgil who was leaning against a wall breathing heavily and holding a hand over his heart.

"Are you alright?"

Virgil looked round and nodded. "Yeah, I almost faceplanted though."

If it were any other situation Roman probably would have laughed but he just looked away and took in the surrounding grey walls.

Once Virgil had calmed his pounding heart he narrowed his eyes and started to stalk down the corridor. "This way."

Roman followed him in silence for the first ten minutes but as they came to a junction he asked "What exactly do you plan to do once we find Apathy?"

Virgil stopped, his entire body tense as he turned his head to look over his shoulder at Roman. "I plan to save Deceit." he then continued, not even bothering to explain further.

Roman was left with more questions than answers as he followed Virgil in silence again.

After another ten minutes the walls started to darken and Roman was about to ask why when a loud agonised shriek echoed through the hall.

Virgil froze, his hands clenching into fists and his teeth grit together as he recalled all the times he'd heard that same sound over the years.

"Was that...."

"That was Deceit." Virgil cut Romans question off with a voice quivering with barely contained anger.

Virgil sped up, Roman having to jog to keep up with him. He knew exactly where Rin would be.

The shrieks and cries kept echoing down the hall, getting louder as they approached.

Virgil eventually stopped outside of a door he knew lead to the torture room and braced himself for the encounter he was about to have.

"Your job is to get Deceit out. I'll keep Rin occupied for as long as I can and you get Deceit to safety."

Roman immediately protested "I'm not leaving you! I told you, I don't want to lose you and leaving you here alone is the last thing I will ever do."

Virgil sighed "Roman, please. Get Deceit to safety and don't worry about me. I can look after myself. It's already worrying enough that you're in this part of the mind. Light sides don't belong here."

Roman opened his mouth again to protest but Virgil burst through the door, forcing him to follow.

"do my eyes deceive me? Virgil! How wonderful to see you so conscious again."

Rins voice rang out from across the room and Roman couldn't help but shudder as he laid eyes on the apathetic side for the first time.

He'd sort of known what to expect thanks to Logans explanation of his encounters with the side but even so he wasn't prepared for just how intimidating he looked.

"I wish I could say the same about you Rin but I'd much rather see you unconscious." Virgil replied, his voice harsh as he took in the sight of a bloody form laying by Rins feet.

"Virgie!" a voice exclaimed and Virgils eyes darted around the room for a brief second, taking in the sight of Irrationality, Jealousy and Sloth all standing around the room.

Irrationality was the one who spoke, an excited grin on his face as he looked at Virgil and for a few seconds Virgil almost smiled back but refrained as he focused on the heavy scent of blood in the room.

He had other things to deal with right now.

Rin watched with an amused smirk on his face as he put one of his feet on Deceits form and pressed down slightly, making the trait whimper in pain.

"I'm sure I can change your mind, I always could and I doubt anything's changed. Those were fun times. Times when I could tell you not to care so much and you would listen, clinging to both me and my words eagerly."

Roman let out a loud growl at Rins words and clenched his fists, anger flaring as he got what was being implied.

It was then Rin seemed to finally notice him and a cruel grin spread across his face. "What's this? Did you wish to come here Creativity? Or are you only here because of guilt. Guilt for how you've treated Virgil for so long and so you will now do anything to make up for it. Even if it means death."

Roman gulped, but pushed away Rins words, instead choosing to focus on his anger.

Virgil shot a glance at Roman but otherwise didn't react to Rins words, stepping forward with narrowed eyes.

"You have five seconds to step away from Deceit."

Rin chuckled "Or what?"

Virgil stepped closer a dark expression on his face. "Or you'll find out what happens when someone harms the ones I love."

Rin didn't appear to care about Virgils words and instead just laughed, the cold sound making Roman shiver.

"The ones you love? Since when have I done anything to any of the ones you love?"

"Are you trying to say you didn't torture Patton, didn't hurt Logan, that you're not currently hurting Deceit?" Virgil asked in a scathing voice, waiting for Rin to try and deny it.

Rin seemed momentarily caught off guard by Virgils words but recovered quickly. "You're saying you love these individuals? Despite the many times they've shown they don't love you? What about us? Irrationality, Jealousy, Sloth and me? Do you not love us also?"

Virgil laughed "you mean the arguments I've had with them all? That shows how much you know about family and emotions. Sure we have some pretty intense arguments but that doesn't make us love each other any less. And as for you, I don't love you. I don't even hate you because that's too much effort. I guess you could say I'm... Apathetic towards you."

Rin growled and took a step towards Virgil and everything seemed to go in slow motion as Virgil shouted" Now Roman!"

Roman darted across the room to where Deceit lay as Rin was tackled by Virgil.

He scooped the bloody side up and hesitated, his eyes wide as he watched Virgil wrestling with Rin.

"Roman! Fucking go!" Virgil growled and Roman started to move towards the door only to find his way blocked by the other three dark sides.

"Let me through." Roman said, well aware of the blood soaking into his clothes and the barely there breathing of Deceit.

The three exchanged looks, glanced over at Virgil and Rin then looked at Deceit and Roman with conflict clear on their faces.

Roman waited with baited breath for a response and eventually Sloth let out a heavy sigh.

"Fine. Go." he stepped aside, gesturing for the other two to do the same and after a moment of hesitation they also moved out of the way.

Roman muttered a quiet thanks and walked quickly out of the room, planning on getting Deceit to safety while also hoping Virgil would be OK.

After a minute or so Roman realised that the job of getting Deceit back safely was going to be much harder as he realised he had no idea what way to go due to how identical the corridors looked.

He walked around for a while, coming to many dead ends and getting increasingly worried as he felt Deceit slowly starting to get to the point of no return.

He stopped at a point where the corridors split into four and felt a few tears of frustration and despair roll down his cheeks.

He didn't remember where to go and he didn't want to fail Virgil by letting Deceit die on him so he took a few breaths to calm himself and then headed in a random direction, hoping that it was the right way.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As soon as Virgil was sure Roman was out of the room he unleashed a vicious sounding snarl of anger and began punching Rin repeatedly, punctuating each punch with a word.

"You. Are. A. Heartless. Manipulative. Bastard. Who. Deserves. Way. More. Than. This. Leave. My. Family. Alone. Or. I. Will. Kill. You."

With one final punch Virgil pushed himself to his feet and backed away, breathing heavily and shaking feeling into his hands which were starting to sting from both pain and the coldness Rins skin seemed to emanate.

Rin was laying on his back on the floor, his face bloody and battered from Virgils fists but a grin still on his lips and letting out a wheezy chuckle.

"You're very emotional for someone who claims to not hate me. You put a lot of effort into attacking me and you can't say it was only as a distraction because I can see the anger in your face and eyes. You hate me and you hate that you're still so invested in what I do and say."

Virgil growled "Shut the fuck up. Leave my family alone or I'll find a way to permanently banish you!"

Virgil then spun on his heel and began to walk away, trying to ignore the laughter coming from Rin.

Irrationality, Jealousy and Sloth were all standing by the door, their eyes flitting from Virgil to Rin and back again.

None of them felt inclined to intervene in the fight or to stop Virgil leaving but before Virgil walked out of the door Sloth caught him by the arm.

"It's good to see you again Virgil, even if it isn't for good reasons."

Virgils scowl melted away into a soft smile as he looked at the taller of the three dark sides.

"I'm sorry for not visiting, if Rin stops being such a dick I'll see if I can come see you every now and then."

Sloth nodded and let go of Virgils arm, stepping back to let him leave.

Virgil walked down the corridor with a small sigh. He didn't want to admit that he'd missed any of them but seeing them again brought up so many old memories which he tried to push away.

He was brought out of his thoughts as he came to a junction and noticed blood splattered on the ground, leaving a trail down one of the corridors.

With a curse at his own stupidity Virgil dashed down the corridor, mentally berating himself for not telling Roman the way back.

Roman had gone the wrong way and if Deceit died as a result of it Virgil would never forgive himself.


End file.
